Breaking Down the Sales Tech Stack

Sales

Breaking down the sales tech stack

September 5, 2023

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Discover how a robust sales technology stack can improve efficiency, enhance workflows, and lead to lower operational costs.

Summary

Building out your sales technology stack doesn't have to be costly. A sales tech stack is a pivotal toolkit that enables go-to-market (GTM) teams to work more efficiently and intelligently, leading to savings and higher revenue. In this article, learn about common sales tech stack tools, their benefits, and what to consider when deciding which tools to purchase.

What is a sales tech stack?

A sales technology stack is a collection of software tools, technology, and platforms that's designed to streamline and enhance the sales process. The B2B sales tech stack empowers go-to-market (GTM) teams with the capabilities needed to efficiently manage leads, engage with prospects and customers, track and measure interactions, and drive revenue growth.

While sales stack tools have different functions to support the entire buying cycle, they must be strategically integrated to ensure success. Integrated sales tech stacks optimize the sales process, increase efficiency, and provide a seamless experience for sellers and customers.

Understanding the sales tech landscape

Research from McKinsey reveals that COVID-19 accelerated digital transformation within sales teams, compressing what would have been several years of technological adoption into months. Teams abruptly shifted away from traditional sales techniques centered around in-person interactions to embrace new digital selling strategies and tools to effectively engage with customers across digital channels.

While digitalization has many benefits, it's common for some investments to go unused. A study by Nexthink estimates that organizations around the world waste more than $44 million per month on unused software licenses. Salesforce's State of the Sales Report cites that 66% of sales reps say they're drowning in tools and that sales teams rely on approximately 10 tools to perform their job. What's more, employees often use multiple applications for the same task or purpose. Having multiple tools that do the same thing causes confusion and misalignment on teams. To reduce redundancies and costs, organizations need to determine which tools are most effective and optimize their sales software stack to achieve the ultimate goal: more sales. To resolve this issue, many organizations are taking steps to improve their sales tech stack. In fact, Salesforce found that 94% of sales organizations plan to consolidate their tech stack within the next 12 months.

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Did you know?

Organizations waste more than $44 million per month on unused software licenses.

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Examples of common sales stack tools

Choosing the best sales tech for your organization can be a daunting task for a number of reasons, such as the need to integrate diverse technologies, align with various team preferences, and address legacy systems.

As a starting point, consider your existing sales processes to identify the most essential tools for salespeople at your organization. Just as no two sales teams are identical, every organization's tech stack needs will also look a little different. Let's take a look some some of the more common types of tools in the sales tech stack:

Account and contact managementsoftware focuses on managing individual contacts and accounts and is particularly useful for sellers who need to track interactions, manage follow-ups, and stay updated on account-specific details. While some features may overlap with a CRM (see below), it does not support the full customer lifecycle.
Sales content management software (CMS) stores marketing and sales collateral in one place, helping GTM teams collaborate, automate processes, and manage approved assets. A sales CMS also surfaces relevant content for sellers and enables them to personalize collateral for their customers.
Conversational intelligence (CI)software uses AI to capture, analyze, and provide insights into sales conversations, whether they occur over the phone, through video calls, or in written messages such as email and chat. CI software can also identify keywords and topics of conversation, making it easy for leaders and sellers to understand the salient points of the call. This gives GTM leaders the right intelligence to make strategic business decisions, coach sellers, and forecast deals.
Customer relationship management (CRM) software is a platform for managing all customer interactions and relationships, providing a holistic view of the customer lifecycle. It includes account and contact management but goes beyond by offering functionalities like sales automation, lead tracking, opportunity management, pipeline forecasting, and customer service management.
Sales engagementsoftware is designed to streamline and optimize the entire sales process, from prospecting and outreach to closing deals and nurturing customer relationships. It offers a centralized platform with functionality that enables multichannel communication, personalized messaging, lead prioritization, activity tracking, and analytics and reporting.
Sales forecasting software uses historical data and predictive algorithms to forecast future sales trends and help organizations make informed strategic decisions. The software integrates with various data sources to create a comprehensive dataset for analysis and uses various forecasting models — such as time-series analysis, moving averages, exponential smoothing, and regression analysis — to predict future sales revenue accurately.
Training and coaching tools provide learning programs that are quick and easy to consume, helping sellers onboard and access continuous training on the latest sales techniques, company product updates, and business trends. Training, coupled with real-life scenario-based practice gives reps the personalized coaching needed to improve their skills and reach their goals.

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Benefits of a robust tech stack

A robust sales tech stack brings a host of advantages that help modern sales teams thrive in a dynamic marketplace. Here are some of the key benefits organizations experience:

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Streamlined communication

By integrating various tools like email, messaging, and video conferencing into a single platform, a sales tech stack provides GTM teams with a unified hub for communication and collaboration. This minimizes the need to switch between different applications, saving time and improving responsiveness and engagement.

Improved efficiency

A sales tech stack centralizes data, optimizes sales workflows, and eliminates manual tasks with automation, resulting in higher productivity and better time management. Sales stack tools deliver actionable insights and automated reporting, helping you improve sales forecasting and focus on strategic activities that drive revenue growth.

Optimized sales process

Many sales tech stacks offer customizable workflows that align with your organization's sales process. This ensures that every lead goes through a consistent and optimized journey, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates, increased revenue, and improved customer satisfaction.

Reduce costs

By optimizing sales processes, improving productivity, and leveraging data-driven insights, a robust sales tech stack contributes to lower costs across the entire sales cycle. It enables your organization to achieve its sales goals while maximizing the efficiency of technology and people resources.

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Considerations for building a sales tech stack

Building the right sales tech stack is a process that will have a far-reaching impact on your sales operations, productivity, and bottom line. With so many categories of tools to choose from, there are several factors to consider when building out your sales tech stack:

How will these tools help the organization achieve key business goals and outcomes?
Every tool you add to your tech stack should align with specific business objectives and outcomes. Consider whether the tool enhances efficiency, improves customer experience, increases revenue, or addresses other critical goals. Clearly defining how each tool contributes to your organization's success ensures you're investing in solutions that yield tangible results.
Does the tool integrate and work together with other tools in the tech stack?
Integration is crucial for a cohesive tech stack. Tools that seamlessly work together minimize manual data entry and errors. An integrated tech stack also provides a holistic view of customer interactions and streamlines workflows, ultimately improving efficiency and enabling better decision-making.
How much manual work goes into setting up and managing the tool?
The ease of implementation and ongoing management is a significant factor. Tools that demand extensive manual setup and constant maintenance from IT and GTM teams consume valuable time that could be better spent elsewhere. Opt for tools with intuitive interfaces and automation features that minimize manual effort.
Does this tool support current business as well as future change and growth?
A tool that suits your current needs might not be suitable as your business scales or undergoes changes. Choose tools that can accommodate future growth, new processes, and changing market dynamics. This helps your organization avoid having to switch tools frequently, which can disrupt operations.

Unify your tech stack with Seismic

As the global leader in enablement, Seismic helps sales teams unify tools by integrating with and extending the value of so many popular platforms, including CRM systems, content repositories, email platforms, data sources, and other software. With built-in capabilities around intranet, video and email, social selling, enablement planning, and learning and coaching, Seismic replaces redundant tech, improving operational efficiency and maximizing your ROI.

Interested in improving your outcomes? Get a demo from our experts to learn how to spend less on tech and get more value.